Just zero.096 seconds separated the 3 drivers round some of the shortest tracks at the calendar.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was once fourth, zero.384secs off his team-mate, forward of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and the second one Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes can win a 5th consecutive constructors’ identify on Sunday.

To achieve this, they just have to make sure Ferrari don’t rating 12 extra issues than them. Hamilton clinched a 5th drivers’ identify on the final race in Mexico.

‘F1 Breakdown: Has Lewis Hamilton had it simple?’

Hamilton is hoping he can jump again to competitiveness this weekend, after two races in which Mercedes have struggled for tempo.

The international champion mentioned Mercedes had now not but were given to the ground in their issues, specifically in Mexico, the place the problem in the race was once a loss of tyre temperature, which ended in over the top tyre harm.

“It is not always the case you find all the solutions,” Hamilton mentioned, “so I’m assured everybody has labored as laborious as they may be able to to rectify it and push ahead however it will take this race or even the following race prior to we absolutely are aware of it.

Hamilton has additionally mentioned he needs to wreck a run in which he has did not win some other race after clinching the identify in seasons in which he changed into champion early.

Best of the remaining had been the Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, adopted via Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and the Force India of Esteban Ocon.

Briton Lando Norris, working in first practice in Fernando Alonso’s McLaren in preparation for his debut subsequent season, was once 16th fastest.

Regular McLaren racer Stoffel Vandoorne, who Norris is changing in 2019, was once 19th, the usage of the toughest ‘medium’ tyre, whilst Norris was once at the faster ‘cushy’ tyre.

Five stars: Hamilton sported an additional superstar on his helmet to mark the 5th international identify he gained in Mexico two weeks in the pastVerstappen appearing his defensive strikes at the soccer pitch as Ricciardo watches onTeam lean: The Ferrari storage know the significance of a pre-practice warm-up